The Little Princess
(G, 1:32:58, Released 1939)
| Genres: | Drama, Kids & Family, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy |
| Release Date: | Mar 10, 1939 |
| DVD Release Date: | Jul 18, 2002 |
| Starring: | Shirley Temple, Richard Greene, Anita Louise, Ian Hunter, Cesar Romero, Arthur Treacher, Sybil Jason, Miles Mander, Marcia Mae Jones, Beryl Mercer |
| Directed by: | Walter Lang, William A. Seiter |
| Synopsis: | Shirley Temple's first Technicolor feature, The Little Princess was inspired by the oft-filmed novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Set in turn-of-the-century England, the film finds Temple being enrolled in a boarding school by her wealthy widowed father (Ian Hunter), who must head off to fight in the Boer War. At first, Temple is treated like royalty; her behavior couldn't be more down to earth, but this preferential treatment foments resentment. When her father is reported killed in the war, circumstances are severely altered. The spiteful headmistress (Mary Nash) relegates Temple to servant status and forces the girl to sleep in a drafty attic. She keeps her spirits up by hoping against hope that her father will return, and to that end she haunts the corridors of a nearby military hospital. Queen Victoria doesn't have to make a guest appearance in the tearfully joyous closing sequence, but it does serve as icing on the cake to this, one of Temple's most enjoyable feature films. Reliable Shirley Temple flick supporting actors Cesar Romero and Arthur Treacher are back in harness in The Little Princess, while adult leading lady Anita Louise figures prominently in a sugary dream sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi |
| Full movie details |
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| All of Flixster: | (4658) |
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Other Top Reviews
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September 20, 2010
I read the book when I was a kid, and saw the remake, and this movie was pretty good too. It could have been better, though.
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July 12, 2010
Shirley Temple plays a rich girl in an exclusive boarding school, whose father is suddenly killed in the British War. She becomes a pauper and the hateful headmistress has her stripped of all privileges and forces her to work in the kitchen to earn her keep. Temple refuses to believe her father is dead and searches the hospitals for him where she encounters Queen Victoria.
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November 2, 2008
Cute Shirley Temple movie. The movie was adorable and loved the part when she dumped Ashes on the snotty rich girl! haha. ;) A favorite of mine back in the day.
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June 2, 2008
I think it's hard not to like the Little Princess story. It's sweet and heartfelt and i've never seen a bad version of it.
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November 17, 2007
One of my favorite Shirley Temple movies of all time.
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May 9, 2011
I think this was the frist Shirley Temple movie that I watched when I was a little girl. Its still one of my favorites.
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December 17, 2009
There is no actor I've disliked watching more than young Shirley Temple. Skip this lame star vehicle and rent Alfonso Cuarón's lovely 1995 adaptation of the same book, "A Little Princess", instead.
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September 15, 2009
A soldier's daughter (Shirley Temple) is placed into an all-girls boarding school by her father (Ian Hunter), who is off to war.
Because of her father's wealth, and her charm, she is immediately sent to the head of her class and treated like gold by the majority of those in the school. However, things turn for the worse months later when her father is reported killed in action.
Now, the young miss refuses to believe that her beloved father was killed. She tries to keep all hope that her father is alive as those treat her wrong believing that she has lost all the money that supported her for most of her life.
Let me say first, that this movie is not my usual cup of tea. Shirley Temple movies are usually for young girls, which I am obviously not. I will say right off the top that this is a B movie.
Temple, in my opinion, is a legend in Hollywood, as she should be. However, she was not the perfect actress. She did a much better job than I expected her to have done in this film, but it did appear to me that she did have trouble saying a few lines. I don't know what it is, but sometimes it appears to me that struggles with a few lines. She sometimes appears to struggle getting her lines out, and the strain on her face to get the words to form is pretty evident.
As for the rest of the cast, their performances were pretty good given what they were. For the most part, the supporting characters are not developed well at all. This is most evident with the older student who belittles "Sarah" (Temple). For the most part, she was used to throw insults at "Sarah", and talk behind her back. She is basically there for little to no reason except to annoy "Sarah." For the most part, she, as well as the other girls, are mainly there as background performers used to fill the scenes.
We do get to see other characters a little bit more. But they are mostly used to advance the story -- some better than others.
There is a subplot where two of the teachers have a romantic relationship. This is under developed due to the two characters being taken out of the story for a good chunk of the movie.
The story itself drags along at a slow, boring pace for much of the movie. In these scenes, I thought the acting was very poor and boring.
The wardrobes looked pretty authentic, but was nothing special for an early Technicolor movie. For the most part, clothing and sets were of darker hues. The main colors being grey and black. Temple's perky performance, which was a trademark of her in her movies, was basically the only thing bright.
Shirley Temple movies were/are known to have some musical performances. In fact, she is known for tunes like "Animal Crackers in My Soup" and "The Good Ship Lolipop." Here we get two songs where are completely forgettable. And one of these songs gets an equally forgettable dance number.
The only reason to see this is if you are a Temple fan -- and female. There was little to nothing for the male audience. We do get a tiny police chase on foot near the climax of the movie, but it's nothing like you would see in a movie now.
However, believe it or not, I will recommend it. Providing you are renting it for your young, female child. If you have a young son, skip it. -
September 15, 2009
This old tear jerker never looses it's power to make me laugh and cry! What a talented little girl she was, and what an actress she became.
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September 13, 2009
beautiful story about never giving up, always keeping Hope & the special bond between a loyal loving girl & her devoted single-parent father who disappears while off @ battle.
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June 4, 2009
I think I like the 1995 one better, but this one is cute as well and we couldn't have 95's without this one.
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May 5, 2009
I recently got reaquated with some of the old Shirley Temple movies and this one was always one of my favorites
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May 4, 2009
When her father is reported killed in the Boer War, pampered rich girl Sara Crewe (Shirley Temple) is left to the mercies of a mean-spirited headmistress. Forced to work as a servant and live in the
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March 23, 2009
Si love all of Shirley Temple's movies i have like three on vhs i want them all on dvd. i wish i had a lil girl to watch them with.
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December 30, 2007
How many versions of A Little Princess have been made? The problem is that Sarah Crewe is too perfect. I wish she just had some FLAWS!
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August 8, 2007
Varies greatly from the plot of the book, turning it into a story more templated to the musical comedy style, but that matters little. Miss Temple is here, and she does what she does.
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July 9, 2007
Shirley Temple tended to be a little ham fisted in her acting style as she got older, although that probably had more to do with the scripts and directors. However, in the scene at the end when she's screaming and crying "but I'm Sarah!" your heart will simply break.
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April 19, 2007
AS LONG AS IT ISN'T THE "REVISED COLOR" VERSION.......nope gimme the black and white and my imagination can do the rest.
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February 23, 2007
Ok, so I hate Shirley Temple (I know down right un-American of me) but I've never gotten why she was so big, but that being said, I do love this story, and she's actually cute in it.
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February 10, 2007
The book was GREAT...BUT THERE R 2 VERSIONS...AND SHIRLEY TEMPLE WAS JUST THE BEST LITTLE ACTRESS OF HER TIME...A SHAME THE WAY HER PARENTS TOOK ALL HER MONEY!!!
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December 31, 2006
Shirley Temple stars in this 1939 version of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel This is such a tear jerker.
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June 29, 2006
my mom tells me that my family couldn't get me to watch shirley temple movies when i was younger...guess i wasn't a fan.well i can remember watching this movie when i was pretty little and all i have to say is it's pathetic!
